Brett Yormark reveals what still is on his mind to fix in the Big 12, college sports

Following the approval of last week’s historic House settlement’s, sweeping changes to NIL, among other aspects of college athletics will be implemented beginning on July 1. However, the settlement does not solve all of the problems still facing the industry.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently joined the Triple Option Podcast with Big Noon Kickoff hosts Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram and Rob Stone to discuss some of the issues that are still weighing on his mind heading into the new college football season. Yormark fired off three in quick succession.

“I take everything home with me. It’s a 24/7 job and you can never turn it off,” Yormark explained. “There’s a lot of the big national issues that we’re dealing with. And right now, I would say the big three are the (House) settlement, CFP (College Football Playoff) and future governance future governance, meaning the role of the NCAA in this new age of collegiate athletics.”

The NCAA has been around for over a century and provides a governing body to major college athletics. They provide oversight academically and athletically to student athletes, and offer national championships in each of its respective sports to their member schools.

However, as college athletics continues to shift toward a more professional model (aided by the House settlement Yormark has already mentioned), questions over whether or not the NCAA should be replaced have risen. This is all in theory at this point.

“There’s a lot going on in our space right now, and I’m sure everyone knows, but it’s not just football and basketball,” Yormark continued. “I mean, we sponsor 25 sports here (in the Big 12), 15 of which are women’s sports, and we think there’s a lot of growth there, so there’s a lot to manage and a lot to do.

“But I will tell you that coming from professional sports, there’s nothing like college athletics. It’s a purpose-driven industry and at the core is our student athlete.”

In regards to Yormark’s concerns over the College Football Playoff, the selection committee has adopted a straight-seeding model moving forward, meaning the top four teams will earn a first-round bye. Last season, Arizona State was given a first-round bye as a four seed but was No. 12 in the final poll. This would not be the case anymore.

Greater changes are expected to come regarding the CFP, as 14 and 16-team models have been proposed behind the scenes. When those changes will come, and how it will impact the Big 12 has yet to play out.